DismantleRepair
by SharkAttackxx
Summary: Joey's feeling more lonely and depressed lately. It seems like all his friends have paired off, leaving him to feel like the odd-one-out. Will Joey find friendship, and maybe more, in the most unlikely of people?  Rated M for language & lemon later chpts


**A/N:** Hallo everyone! :3 This here is my first FanFiction! I got the idea while listening to an Anberlin song. xD;;

Well, anyways, I know how boring these A/Ns can be, so I'll makeit quick.

Please read and review! I accept all criticism, especially constructive criticism, but I won't tolerate flamers. If you don't like it, don't read it. It's as simple as that.

Anyways, this is chapter one, and (I'm sorry to say) there's isn't much SetoxJoey action. D; It sucks, I know! But we can't just jump into OoC love-makin'! Gotta start somewhere, right? ;D

Anywhose~ Here's the boring stuff:

**Disclaimer: **I do not, nor do I claim to, own Yu-Gi-Oh, any of its name, characters, or logos! I simply twist it around for my own pleasure.

**Song Credit: **Lyrics are from Dismantle. Repair. by Anberlin. I don't own these either!

_**Bold & Italic**_-Lyrics

_/Italic in forward slashes/_-Joey's thoughts

Enjoy~!

* * *

**Chapter One**

_Loneliness_

_**Hands, like secrets, are the hardest thing to keep from you…**_

_/Oh, shut up…/_

_**Lines, and phrases, like knives, your words can cut me through…**_

A low growl issued from somewhere beneath a heap of blankets.

_**Dismantle me down (repair)**_

"God, just shut UP!"

_**You dismantle me, yo-**_

The echoing sound of plastic coming into contact with thin drywall rang through the tiny one-bedroom apartment.

_/Great. Another wonderful fucking start to a glorious god-damned day./_

Joey Wheeler wrenched the covers from his eyes, and squinted as light shone through the multiple tears in his curtains. He pulled himself into a sitting position, gave an exaggerated yawn, and slumped his shoulders as he observed the scene before him.

_/I'm going to have to get yet another alarm clock. Wonderful./_

Joey pulled himself up off of his bed, getting ready for another monotonous day of high school.

* * *

_Tap. Tap. Tap. Tapitty taptap tap. Tap._

"Yo, uhh, Tristan. Could ya do me a favor and just quit texting?"

Joey had been leaning back in his chair, making it go on its two back legs, closing his eyes when the clicking sound of his friend's fingers on the keypad interrupted Joey's thoughts on whether or not he should ditch class.

"What, why? I haven't seen Serenity in ages, can't I at least send her a text every so often?"

_/Yeah, every so often…More like every second./_

"I didn't get much sleep and I haven't eaten today, man. Just don't text till I get some food in my stomach."

Tristan gave a contemptuous grunt and begrudgingly slipped his phone into his pocket, just as Joey was greeted by the sight of one of his other best friends. The strange-haired Yugi had just bounded into class, looking fresh and chipper. When he saw Joey and Tristan, he walked over to them with a huge grin on his face.

"Wha's the smile about?" Tristan asked, a bit harsher than was needed.

Yugi pointed to a glittering trinket roped 'round his neck. It appeared to be a small silver locket, with a fine heart engraved on it. It looked rather expensive.

"Yami's gift to me! For our one-month anniversary!" Yugi was practically bursting at the seams with joy. "Last night was soo romantic!" Yugi's voice dropped to a whisper at this point, but it seemed barely able to contain his excitement, "And..and~ We kissed! We even did _more_ than kissing!… We…"

"Now now, Yugi… Didn't we have an agreement that you won't divulge our personal affairs to our friends? I don't think they'd like it very much…" The sultry voice of Yugi's darker half, Yami, floated from somewhere behind the small boy. And despite Yami's serious tone, there was a hint of a blush on his cheeks and a smile played on his lips.

Yugi turned slowly to his Yami as his face flushed and he bit the tip of his thumb. "I'm so~rry Yami, I'm just so happy about it all."

Yami smiled down at his lighter half, and began to say "Don't worry, little one…" But at this point, Joey had grown sick of seeing this entire scene unfold. He had stood up and walked out of class, and just as he reached the door, he heard the _tapitty tap tapping_ of Tristan's phone, and figured he would skip class after all.

* * *

Joey sat under a tree in the far end of the grassy area in the back of school. He reclined against the trunk, thankful that he was out-of-sight and able to have some time to himself. As he tried to keep his mind clear, the image of Yugi's smiling face with his silver trinket kept emerging in Joey's mind, and he felt almost nauseous. It's not that he had a problem with gay people, he just had a problem with any happy couple. They reminded him of how unhappy and lonely he was.

These thoughts plagued Joey's mind as phrases kept floating through his mind such as, "_You'll never find anybody," "Who could possibly love you of all people?" _and _"You should just give up on life, it's not like anyone would care if you did."_

As these thoughts came, went, and returned, he felt his face flush and tears came unbidden, his eyes stinging as he tried to hold them back.

_/Come on, Joey, you're a man! You can't get all teary-eyed over nothin'./_

But the tears began to flow down his cheeks.

_/Seriously, who cares if no one wants me? This is how it's always been. What's so different now?/_

_...  
_

_/…I've always had my friends. And now… They've all gone and gotten happy, leaving me all…/_

"Alone…"

The last word croaked from his tightened throat and the tears flowed freely, and Joey used the sleeve of his school uniform to wipe his eyes and his runny nose.

"My god, dogs really don't have any sense of personal hygiene, do they?"

Joey's fist clenched as he lowered his head further, his sleeve still pressed to his nose, as the obnoxious voice of a certain young CEO shot at him.

"Seriously, Wheeler, you can't use a tissue to blow your nose? Did you lose all sense of dignity when you first crawled on all fours?"

Joey's tears soon dried as his emotions quickly shot from grief to rage, his arms shaking as he could barely hold back the urge to scream his lungs out.

"Oh, what? Did the mutt forget how to talk? Ohh, let me help you. When I say, 'Mutt,' you say-"

The next thing Kaiba saw was a blur of blonde as Joey leaped up and pounced on him. Caught completely off guard, Kaiba lost his balance and was unable to stop the following onslaught of very aggressive (and accurate) punches.

Joey didn't know what he was doing. All he knew was that he wanted to beat the living crap out of something, and there was a perfectly meaty punching bag already squirming beneath him.

His fists made contact with every part of Kaiba he could reach. His chest, his arms, his head. But in the array of punches, a very well-aimed fist connected with the side of Joey's face, sending him reeling backwards onto the ground, panting as his mind struggled to catch up with everything that just happened.

As he looked before him, he saw Seto Kaiba slowly getting to his feet, his face covered in blood. He seemed surprisingly calm, but most times, that's when a person is most dangerous. Kaiba simply gave Joey an icy glare, as though expecting Joey to apologize, or grovel, or both. That, however, was not at all what Joey had in mind.

Joey was beginning to feel the grief return to him, and terrified of the prospect of crying in front of Kaiba, he quickly got to his feet, hopped the back fence to the school, and sprinted all the way home.

* * *

As Joey jogged the last few steps to his front door, he stopped, hunched over and grasped his knees, attempting to catch his breath. Finally, after a few seconds, he felt he was ready to enter the dingy apartment. He grasped the handle, turned, and swung the door open, hurriedly shutting it in an attempt to get out of sight in case his dad wasn't quite asleep. But as he looked around, he noticed something… Odd. The apartment didn't smell as bad as usual, and the dirty dishes that had been overflowing in the sink of the kitchen (which was basically just an extension of the living room) were now sitting on a towel on the counter, apparently drying. As Joey looked around, he noticed more and more that the apartment seemed much less filthy than usual. It was still riddled with blood, alcohol, and miscellaneous other stains, yet the trash and bottles were gone, the floor seemed swept, and there were little cups of potpourri on the tables, counters, and even on the television. Still adjusting to the bizarre sight, Joey hadn't even noticed the door had opened behind him and his father was tapping on his shoulder. Joey finally turned his head towards the middle-aged man, and if he hadn't already been dazed, he probably would have ask the man "Who are you?" But, it _was_ his father, just… A much cleaner version.

Joey, finally coming to his senses, shook his head a bit and managed to say, "Uhh… Pops, what's goin' on here? Is there somethin' I should know about?"

Joey's father gave him a weak smile, shaking his head, and saying in a very sober voice, "No, I… I just felt so… Disgusted with everything, that's all."

_/That's all, huh?/_

"Well, pa, I 'ppreciate this'n all, but… Was it really for no reason? I mean… Did you really do this just cause ya felt like it?"

"Uhh.. Yeah, pretty much." The elder Wheeler let out a small chuckle. "It started off with the dishes, cause I had nothing to eat on… Then I realized how filthy the stove was, and I threw out all the trash, and… Yeah." He gave Joey a small smile.

Joey took another long look at the apartment. "Uhh-huh… And the little tins of smelly stuff?"

"Oh, the potpourri? It was in a box that your mother left… It was sealed, and I didn't see an expiration date…"

Joey nodded, and as he did so, another question formed in his mind. "So, uh.. Where did you just come from? I mean, where've you been?"

At this, a large smile formed on Joey's father's lips. "I went to get a job!"

Joey simply stared.

A few more seconds of awkward silence.

"Ohh, uh, you did, huh? What, at a liquor store? Or a smoke shop?"

The grin on the elder Wheeler's face widened. "Nope. I went to apply for a job at Kaiba Corp!"

…Silence…

"And they hired me!" He gripped Joey's shoulders, as if the former's excitement would flow into the latter.

Joey simply stared at his father, thoughts gnawing at two things.

One: That his father actually went out and got a job.

Two: That Kaiba actually hired someone in kinship with the young blonde.

But, figuring that this was definitely an upturn in their lifestyle, Joey finally let the happiness take hold of him as a grin appeared on his own face, matching his father's.

_/Maybe today isn't such a bad day after all…/_

From there, Joey's life had slowly started to suck just a little less.

But, as predicted, his father had to go and fuck things up like he always did.

* * *

Only 6 days after Joey's father had gotten the job, Joey came home to an apartment that reeked of alcohol.

/_Shit../_

Joey's eyes scanned the room, thankful that it didn't seem damaged in any way, but as soon as he made his way around to the front of the couch, he groaned.

_/I shoulda known…/_

Joey's father laid sprawled out on the couch, empty bottles of beer littering the floor and a half-empty bottle of whiskey in his hand. Joey slowly shook his head as he realized that he should have seen this coming. It was too good to be true. But at this moment, he really only wanted answers. He lifted his foot and nudged his father's side. "Pa. Hey, dad."

He nudged a bit harder.

"C'mon, man, just wake up.."

Joey dug his heel into the sleeping man's hip, and finally he received a grunt of acknowledgement. "Wassah mattuhr?"

"What? I can't understand you, ya drunken bastard. What happened? Why are you here, passed out drunk, instead of at work?"

The elder Wheeler grumbled, "Mmf… Got fired."

Joey blinked and immediately felt the beginnings of rage. "That nancy boy Seto Kaiba fired ya cause he found out you're my dad, right?"

"No…"

"What? Then… Why'd they fire you?"

Joey's father grumbled once more, but it was completely inaudible. Joey tried repeatedly to get a straight answer, but had no such luck, so he decided to retire to his room to do homework.

A few hours after Joey had completed his work, he found himself waking up from a rather unpleasant nap. He was too hot, it was too bright, and now that it had grown darker and cooler, Joey felt wide awake. So, he decided to get up and eat a hearty dinner, considering they wouldn't have extra money for luxuries such as food. He opened his bedroom door and took a few steps towards his living room, to see a very unexpected sight.

There was someone in his living room. It wasn't his father. And after noting the empty whiskey bottle on the floor, Joey devised that his father had gone to the bar.

But Joey was less concerned with his father's whereabouts and more concerned with a certain tall, blue-eyed brunette that happened to be looking around the room, his face stuck in a very nasty grimace.

"Kaiba." Joey was shocked at the tone of his own voice. It sounded calm and curious, not surprised and angry. He hadn't seen the young CEO since the incident in the back of school. As Joey looked over Kaiba's yellowing bruises, he figured he knew why.

The towering figure of Seto Kaiba jumped at the voice that came from nowhere, looking struck as his eyes fell on Joey. "Wh-wheeler! What are you doing here?"

Kaiba's pretentious and know-it-all tone made Joey realize how angry he should be, and almost shouted, "Well, it is _**my**_ living room!"

Kaiba looked shocked as ever, shaking his head. "No this it's not!"

Joey scoffed at this, actually amused at how much Kaiba thought he knew, and how much of a child he sounded like. "Uh, yeah, Kaiba, it is. If you're here for my dad, as you can see, he's moved onto greener pastures for the night."

"Your… Father..?" Kaiba looked stricken as ever. Joey couldn't believe what he was seeing.

"Yes, Kaiba, my father. The employee you fired earlier today."

Kaiba stared at Joey for a moment. "Joseph.. Wheeler.. Joseph Wheeler.. Sr.?"

Joey stared back at Kaiba. They stayed like that for a good 30 seconds before Joey broke the silence.

"Yeah, Kaiba, I'm Joseph Wheeler Jr., He's the Sr. Glad you could make that connection." Joey shook his head in unbelief.

Kaiba's face flushed for a moment, and he almost looked embarrassed. But almost immediately, his gaze turned to steel and he smirked at the blonde before him. "Sorry, mutt, I just never would have thought that you'd come from such a disgusting family."

Joey raised an eyebrow, "Whaddya mean?"

At this, Kaiba's face flashed with anger before he steeled once more. But there was no masking the dangerous tone of his voice, "Your father… Said some very inappropriate things to Mokuba."

Joey immediately felt a sickening feeling wrench his stomach, the color draining from his face. "Wh…What?.."

Kaiba clenched his jaw and stared at Joey for a moment, before looking away, whispering, "You heard me." Kaiba's fists clenched. "He said inappropriate and… Sexual.. Things to Mokuba. That would not be tolerated, so I had an employee fire him. But I wanted to come here myself and express my feelings on the situation." Kaiba turned a deathly glare back on Joey.

Joey stood rooted to the spot. He wanted to yell at Kaiba to leave, but he wanted to apologize from the depths of his heart for anything and everything his father had said. Joey considered it his own fault that this had happened. But he hadn't thought about what his father had done in years… His mind had successfully blocked it out, apparently, but… Just the thought of poor little Mokuba andhis drunken father…

Joey shook his head violently and said in a shaky voice, "You…uhh… You need to leave, Kaiba.. You can… Comeback tomorrow, while I'm at school…"

"No, Wheeler, I will absolutely _not_ leave!"

Joey gave Kaiba a death glare of his own, and Kaiba faltered for a moment, just enough time for Joey to stride over to the door and open it. "You can come back tomorrow while I'm not here and deal with the situation however you'd like."

Kaiba hesitated for a moment, not wanting to follow the orders of the mutt, but felt he had no choice. He crossed the threshold, pausing just on the other side of the door.

"I'll be back to school tomorrow, once I finish up dealing with your-"

Joey slammed the door in mid-sentence, totally over the sound of Kaiba's voice.

_/Yeah, whatever, Kaiba… Like I care./_

_

* * *

_**A/N:** Well, there you have it! It ended up being much longer than I anticipated. xD Sorry again for the lack of sexiness.

Please R&R!

Next chapter will be entitled "Discovery."


End file.
